1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic treatment apparatus, an endoscope apparatus, and a treatment method therefor. The ultrasonic treatment apparatus and the endoscope apparatus include a portion to be inserted into a body cavity of a subject for observation of a living tissue or for incision and coagulation of the living tissue in the body cavity, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some conventional treatment apparatuses include an electrode knife which protrudes from a flexible electrically-insulating tube, and the electrode knife is provided with a high-frequency knife at a protruding end thereof. The high-frequency knife has an insulating chip which is larger in diameter than the knife itself. In the high-frequency knife, when a living tissue such as a mucosa is incised by the electrode knife with the use of a high-frequency current, the insulating chip prevents the electrode knife from cutting through the a lower-layer of the living tissue which should not be incised, and the insulating chip also prevents unnecessary cauterization. The conventional treatment apparatus as described above is described, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. H8-299355.